Is Gonzaga still a No. 1? Late title games leave several teams in contention for top NCAA Tournament seeds

Gonzaga’s NCAA Tournament seeding could come down to the final buzzer of a couple of conference tournament title games Sunday.

The Zags (30-3) seemingly have been glued to the No. 1 seed line since the bracket reveal show on Feb. 9. However, Gonzaga’s loss to Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference Tournament title game could prompt the selection committee to reconsider.

Bracket gurus dropped the Zags a spot or two but kept them on the top seed line immediately after Tuesday night’s loss, but cautioned that could change pending the outcome of power conference tournaments.

Following Tennessee’s thrilling SEC semifinal win over Kentucky, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi listed Virginia, Duke, North Carolina and Gonzaga on the one line. Duke moved up to the No. 1 overall seed after winning the ACC Tournament, Lunardi projected.

Lunardi bases his brackets on what he believes the selection committee will do.

Asked about Gonzaga’s hold on the fourth No. 1 seed, Lunardi replied, “I think it’ll depend on Tennessee (in the SEC title game) and Michigan State (in the Big Ten championship game).”

If the Zags were to slip to the two line, Lunardi suggested they probably would be the top second seed and stay in the West Region with Tennessee or Michigan State as the last No. 1.

“So essentially you have the same path to the regional final, but you’d just be the team in the darker uniform,” he said.

Gonzaga beat full-strength Duke in Maui, lost to Tennessee in Phoenix and fell to North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Nearly every bracket projection has the Zags playing on Thursday in Salt Lake City. Projected opponents include Bradley, Gardner-Webb, Prairie View A&M or the winner of a play-in game (Iona-Fairleigh Dickinson, Iona-North Dakota State).